Chapter Eighteen
The house wasn't nearly as pretty as the one I used to live in. A piece of the blue siding had come loose and swayed in the wind. The basketball hoop in the driveway didn't have a net. It was still a decent house. It was two stories and had a nice tree with flowers starting to bloom in the front yard. The overcast sky made the word around me a darker shade.
I popped a potato chip in my mouth and watched the house. It was weird to think that house was where my family was staying. I just wanted to see them.
"Sooo…" I said as my foot tapped on the floor of the car. "Did you hear that I'm a carrier?" I asked as I turned my head away from the driver's seat.
"I did," Revenge answered with a soft smile. It had been two and a half weeks since the poison incident. Recovering hadn't been fun. Zane hadn't talked to me alone ever since, and Revenge never mentioned knowing anything about my carrier status. Revenge had told me he had a secret planned, and this was it. I got to see where my family lived. The air was starting to warm for the summer months.
"Who told you?" I asked as the front door to the house opened.
"Zane… and, Blair, a lot of people know now." That figured. The car we were sitting in was parked across the street and a house down from my family's new house. I tensed and waited for whoever it was to come outside.
Jason's hair was still buzzed cut. He had a pair of sunglasses covering his green eyes. In one hand he had a gym bag, and in the other he held what looked like a text book.
"He's still going to school," I said with a smile as I tapped on Revenge's shoulder excitedly.
"Did you expect him to quit?" Revenge asked as my brother unlocked his car door.
"I don't know. He has never really been a school person. I was always the one who pushed him to do it," I explained. I leaned forward when something surprised me. A girl came hurrying out of the door and stomping after Jason. Her blonde hair flew behind her in a mess. She wore an oversized sweatshirt and a pair of baggy black sweatpants. Glasses sat on the bridge of her nose.
"Who in the world is that?" I said out loud as I tried to find her face in my memory. I came up blank. She wasn't Jason's normal type. I was used to seeing the girls that barely had any clothes on and over exaggerated makeup. I watched her stop on the passenger side, and Jason screamed at her over the top of his car. She took a few steps back then turned around and started walking down the street barefoot. Jason stood and looked over his car at her retreating form. I wondered where my little brother Dillon was. Jason watched her disappear down the street before he got in his car. I remembered when I could just go up to Jason and ask what they had argued about, instead I was left guessing.
"Revenge."
"Yes."
"Is he my brother?" I asked quietly as his car backed out of the drive way and started down the street.
"Did you argue with him about stupid things?" he asked me.
"Yes," I answered while thinking about the time we argued about gold fish and their memory.
"You love him and he is a part of your family."
"Yeah…but I mean… Revenge." I swallowed loudly and scrunched my eyes closed. It was silent as a couple of seconds past.
"I'm a carrier… Jason and Dillon aren't like me. I'm not human. They are. That means they aren't… we're not related."
"They're your brothers," Revenge stated.
"But…there's no way-"
"You don't need to go blood deep in order to be family, Blair." Revenge ended the conversation with that. That solved the mystery. I wasn't biologically related to them.
"Back at The Court of Shadows they said something about me having a twin. Do you know anything about that?" I asked while Revenge started the car.
"We have to go. I'm sorry you didn't get to see your little brother or your mom."
"That's okay. Thank you for taking me." I smiled at him and grabbed his hand. The ring he gave me glistened on my finger.
"And we are looking to find more information about the twin situation. Nothing has turned up. Of course, I'll let you know if something does." I stayed quiet for a while as we drove out of the neighborhood.
It was nice seeing Jason. I needed to make sure my family stayed safe, and just seeing them living eased a part of me. I felt lost. I found myself thinking about my biological family and wondered why my mom never told me I was adopted. It was a strange feeling that made me feel severed from the family I'd grown up in.
"Only a six hour drive to go," Revenge said as we merged onto the highway. I glanced over at his face.
"Are you okay?" I asked him worried. He appeared to be a little distracted and the way his eyes looked concerned me. He looked exhausted.
"Blair, I'm fine. I am just a little tired-"
"We're taking a pit stop! You need to rest and-"
"Blair-"
"eat. Wait. How do you…do you just pick some random person off of the street-"
"Blair." He finally received my attention.
"Leland." I unintentionally called him by his first name. I surprised myself. I glimpsed up at Revenge. His eyes looked down at me in a soft surprise. I saw a smile reach the edges of his lips. He didn't end up saying whatever it was he was going to say, so I started to speak.
"Um…I don't know…what…"
"It's okay. I don't mind being called by that name. It's just been a really long time." He turned his head and looked out of the window as if he was lost in a memory.
"Well, we're stopping. You need to sleep. Wait. Do you sleep?" I asked.
"About once a week for a couple of hours." He glimpsed over at me as he answered.
"Okay. So we'll spend a couple of hours at a hotel and then get on the road again. We shall take our time," I said happily, but there was a tugging in my body. I think I was making the bond super angry by being too far away. The distance from Zane made me fidgety and lost. I even felt dizzy.
The hotel we ended up stopping at was huge. I meant to stop at a little run down type of hotel, but I told Revenge we were stopping at the first one we saw. This huge hotel was the first one. We ended up parking far away from the entrance since the parking lot was filled. We both got out of the huge truck Revenge called his 'car'. He grabbed a duffle bag from the back seat of the escalade. It was such a beautiful truck.
"Can I have this truck for my birthday?" I asked seriously as I looked at my reflection in the black paint.
"That's only in a few months." He smiled as he pulled a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. I pulled a baseball cap over my hair.
"You look like a super star in those glasses," I told him. He smirked as he looked at the ground ahead of us. His head snapped up, and looked to the right. My eyes followed his stare. A group of boys were walking towards us and to their car. The outside world seemed strange to me now. Maybe it was because their problems were much different than mine. I felt disconnected from them.
Revenge put an arm around me and pulled me closer to him. I felt happiness inside of me. I wasn't going to complain, but I glanced at him with a confused expression.
"Maybe this wasn't a good idea," he said uncertainly. His eyes wandered around the parking lot and stopped at the group of boys.
"Why? What's going on?" I asked concerned as I scanned the group.
"Nothing." He began and then finished reluctantly. "They're just talking about you and it makes me feel angry." His grip on me unintentionally tightened. I laughed.
"Really? Are they making fun of my beautiful hat?" I said because to be quite honest I looked terrible in hats.
"No. They are saying things that are not appropriate," he said angrily.
"Oh," I whispered. I felt like hiding.
"I wish I could talk to them about it. They should show respect," he said softly. Revenge stiffened when they past us. One of the boys was wearing baggy pants. I giggled softly.
"What are you finding so amusing?" Revenge's silver blue eyes looked at me curiously.
"I think it's funny when some guys wear baggy pants. Do you know how the whole baggy pants thing started? It started in prisons. Wearing their pants down like that was sort of like advertising themselves to the other inmates." I shook my head as Revenge held the door to the hotel open for me. I found it funny that guys did that to act cool and they didn't even know how that habit developed. A family was walking right behind us, and he held the door for them too. It was the little things that Revenge did that made me stop and think about him.
"This is a very populated hotel. It might not be safe," he said as he brushed by me.
"Revenge, just relax. Pretend," I whispered, "that we're living a normal day." I glanced up at him. He was staring down at me.
"I don't think I know how to do that." His eyes scanned around the room. I laughed at his ridged stance. He was acting like a body guard.
"It's quite simple really. All you have to do is pretend that no one cares about who you are or what you're doing." He tried relaxing. He looked so cute trying to be normal. It only made him more anxious. We got a room and were walking to it when I heard the music. It was a bunch of tones that wove over one another.
"Do you hear that!" I asked happily as I started to heading away from the direction we were going and followed the sound. Revenge's soft footsteps followed behind me.
"It sounds like-"
"An arcade!" I finished as I stopped at the entrance. We walked through. Lights lit up the large space with different colors. I picked up a gun for one of the shooting games.
"Have you ever seen me use a gun before?" I asked as I tried to look professional gripping the blue gun in my hand.
"I have seen you hold one. Never have I seen you pull the trigger," he answered with a smile on his face.
"Well, that doesn't do me justice! Put in a few coins, and you'll see just how amazing I am," I said as I tried spinning the gun around my finger. Revenge laughed when it fell to the floor.
"That was just an act, so that way you underestimate me. It's a strategy I use."
"I'm sure it was," he said as he put a few quarters in the machine. He grabbed the red gun that was a part of the same game. Throughout the whole game we had to shoot spiders. I even pushed his shoulder a little once to try and throw him off balance. I don't think Revenge missed once. Lights went off at the end of the game. Revenge just broke the old record. A bunch of tickets started to pour out of the machine. I glanced up at Revenge. He was putting the gun back with a satisfactory smile. I never beat him. Never.
"One day, we will have a rematch," I announced as I thought about becoming a carrier.
"As you wish," he said as he handed me the stack of three hundred and fourteen tickets. I got myself a small dolphin stuffed animal.
:::
Our room was nice. It was the typical hotel room. The hallway smelled of chlorine. That made me guess that we were close to the pool. I plopped down on one of the mattresses and let out a long sigh.
"I'm kindda tired," I mumbled as I thought about the drive we still had ahead of us. I looked over at Revenge. He was carefully emptying his pockets. First he took out a gun. Then he took out a knife. Then he took out another knife. Then he took out a pocket knife.
"Where do you keep all of that?" I asked amazed at how he would be able to walk with everything strapped onto him. That would drive me insane. He smiled.
"That's a secret," he said as he sat on the edge of the other bed.
"Speaking of secrets, you knew how to use that gun quite well. How many people have you killed exactly?" I asked like it was no big deal. Then I thought about it. It wasn't a good question to ask Revenge. He was touchy on the subject, unlike Zane.
"You don't have to answer that. Do you like cats or dogs? I'm more or a dog person myself. Not that I hate cats at all. I'd just rather have a dog." I nervously played with my fingers and glanced out of the window and away from Revenge's silver blue eyes. The room was filled with silence.
"I lost count," Revenge whispered as I heard to soft sound of him lying down on the other bed. A tired sigh slipped from his lips.
"It is why I get so exhausted. I hate to sleep. I might not remember their names, but I see their faces." Pain filled his words. I closed my eyes. How terrible would it be to slip into sleep and face the people I've taken from the world? His tired appearance was more than just the sickness. He was constantly living with regret. I didn't know whether that regret emerged with justice or not, but I imagined Revenge wouldn't kill anyone without reason.
"Did…who did you...kill?" I asked. I couldn't risk not knowing any longer.
"Anyone who was a threat. Blair, I didn't even look for proper evidence. I just-" I cut him off before he could continue. I didn't mean to bring him down.
"When I was little I use to go out during the rainstorms." I began my bed time story. I could hear the settle sound of Revenge's deep breaths. I imagined my childhood. My brown hair stuck to my forehead sopping wet. My feet were bare against the wet paved ground. The threat of lighting would present itself with thunder, but my mom still had the hardest time getting me to come inside.
"I wore a yellow rain jacket and blue rain boots. I hated the rain for one reason. It made the worms come up to the surface. Some would unintentionally crawl into a puddle and drown." I thought of the once brown bodies appearing blue in the shallowest puddles the storm had to offer.
"I would run around the cul-de-sac we lived in, and I would pick them up with my bare hands and place them back into the grass. I thought I was saving them. I thought that if I put them into the soaking grass, that they would be safe." My lips tugged up into a sad smile.
"Imagine the outrage I felt when I discovered I was only putting the worms back in danger when I put them back into the grass. It was the soaking grass and dirt they were trying to escape. After all the hard work of squirming out of the grass, and I would just put them right back in. I was upset my mom didn't tell me I was only putting them in even more danger than when they were on the pavement." I finished my story and opened my eyes. I turned my head toward Revenge. His eyes were closed. He seemed peaceful, so I continued to speak. I had successfully distracted him.
"When I finally got the saving lives thing right, my brothers and I discovered a way to save toads," I said proudly, since that was a plan that never seemed to fail.
"We would look into our neighbor's window wells, and pry them open. One of us would jump down as the other two would help the one in the well back up." I pictured my youngest brother jumping into the deep well and picking the desperate toad from the rocky bottom of the window well. My older brother and I would hold our hands out and pull him up.
"That was one of the times I actually saved a life instead of endangering one." I smiled in memory of my window-well rescuing days. I stopped. I almost felt like I was a toad in a window well. A bunch of men that were usually throwing worms back into the grass were now jumping down into the window well and picking me up. I was the one life of many that they weren't endangering but they were rather trying to save. What was I doing comparing myself to toads? I felt a weird sensation to laugh at myself.
Revenge was sleeping. I could tell by the slow rise and fall of his chest that he was out. I stared at the ceiling for quite some time. Honestly, I thought about how weird life was. I fell into a deep sleep.
The alarm clock falling to the ground was what woke me up. I jumped awake. A crash sent a shock through the floor causing the night stand to shake. I gasped as my eyes adjusted to the dark room. My eyes glimpsed over at the two shadowed forms in the room. Revenge wasn't in his bed. I sprung out of the bed and stumbled a little dizzy. I got up too fast. Revenge was down on the floor. The revolting sound of the intruder's fist striking against Revenge's face sent my heart racing. All I could think about was protecting Revenge. My hand reached out and grabbed ahold of one of Revenge's knives he had taken out earlier. I turned and looked back to the struggle. A knife gleamed in Revenge's hand, but his hand was being held down. Then I understood why the bond wasn't pulling at me.
"What the heck are you doing?" I yelled as I figured out who occupied the room.
"Do not concern yourself with this, my human." Zane's voice wasn't even strained. He picked up Revenge's wrist and slammed it into the ground. The knife popped free of Revenge's hand. I was in shock at the turn of events.
"If you cannot protect her, why do you keep taking her?" Zane's chaotic voice was low. I felt a panicking sensation build inside me. I didn't know what to do. My hand limply held the knife at my side. Revenge managed to shove Zane back a little and staggered to his feet.
"You used the bond to find her." Revenge's sluggish voice sounded bloody. His breathing had increased, and unlike Zane he seemed to be struggling.
"It does not matter how I found her. I found her. You can no longer prevent that. The problem is that you are failing to protect her. She will die if you don't act appropriately." Zane threw the knife. Revenge ducked, but in doing so he became distracted and wasn't prepared for Zane's quick attack. Zane already had another knife drawn.
"Stop!" I yelled, but it didn't seem to matter to Zane. They were too fast for my eyes to follow, and the darkness made it even harder. I saw blood. Blood spattered onto the hotel wall. I knew that Revenge was always a step behind Zane and was on defense. That blood was Revenge's. I stepped forward. Before I could think better of it, I approached Zane. The knife was still in my hand.
I aimed and raised the knife to his back. I threw my weight forward. Zane spun around quickly. His hand snatched my wrist from the air hard. I cried out in pain from the immediate sensation. I whimpered as he twisted my wrist. Still, I kept the knife in my hand. Tears started to well up in my eyes.
"Zane…" I sighed in pain as my grip on the knife loosened. A look of disbelief flashed quickly across his face before he recovered.
"Come near me and I will snap her wrist," Zane said suddenly. I could see Revenge behind Zane. His pale completion seemed more dramatic. Blood dripped from his mouth and hairline. He leaned against the wall for support.
"Stay there, Leland." I used his real name to add stress on how serious I was. Zane wasn't going to break my wrist, but I couldn't guarantee that he wasn't going to hurt Revenge again.
My eyes traveled up to the man responsible. His eyes gleamed red in the dark room. He was livid. The knife that was once tightly gripped in my hand clattered to the floor.
"Do you understand what it is like for me when I'm not near you?" he angrily murmured. I was transfixed on what he had to say.
I gasped as something felt like it had flickered on in my body. A weird sense of anger, regret and determination washed over me. My head started to ache. A weird pain hit my stomach. My hand went to my stomach to try and keep it from hurting. My teeth crushed each other as I looked over at Zane. His head tilted as he caught sight of my pained expression.
"Do you feel that?" he asked as I watched his angered face. I grunted willing the pain to vanish.
"It is something that I feel whenever I am away from you for too long. I'm not controlling the projection of my feelings through the bond. I am letting them go. You can now sense and absorb the way that I feel." I tried to sense his emotions, but everything flooded. I couldn't pick them out. It was all just too much for me. With a sudden relief, I took a deep breath and stumbled back. I glanced up at him in surprise.
When I was away from him I almost felt empty, dizzy, and lost. When he was away from me, it made him feel anger, pain, and determination to find me. It was almost perfect in that opposite way.
"Oh." That was my one word answer.
"We are leaving," Zane stated as he pulled on my wrist.
"No. I'm not going," I protested glancing over at Revenge. I wasn't going to leave him while he needed me. And how dare he ask me to come with him when he barged in and beat Revenge?
"You don't have a choice." Zane let me know impatiently.
"I do have a choice," I spoke up as I glanced at Revenge. He leaned against the wall and slowly started sliding to the floor with heavy breaths. I angrily gazed back at Zane in disappointment. Blue started to take over in his eyes. I clutched my wrist.
"I am waiting outside of this door. You have ten minutes," Zane demanded as he turned his back on me. He pressed his hand against his forehead as he walked out. The door clicked shut quietly.
"I'm so sorry," Revenge spoke tiredly. My sad eyes followed his voice. He had fallen completely down the wall and was now sitting on the floor.
"He's psychotic. Don't apologize for something that isn't your fault," I said to assure him. I switched on the lights.
Blood marked the walls around him. His brown hair was in disarray. His silver blue eyes looked worn out. A long gash from the knife Zane held marked his arm in blood. I almost wished the knife I held would have sunken into Zane's back.
"Revenge," I said faintly. He looked terrible.
"I will heal," he said breathy. I took hurried steps to the bathroom and wetted a towel. I kneeled beside him on the floor.
"What happened?" I asked nervously as I brought the wash cloth to his forehead. I wiped away the blood on his face.
"I don't know. I woke up with him starting a fight," Revenge murmured quietly. His voice seemed fragile.
"I don't have any bandages, and your cut on your arm looks like it needs stiches-"
"Blair." He stopped my rambling. I glanced up into his eyes. Surprisingly, he was smiling at me with a tired face.
"I will heal," he repeated delicately.
"I thought we've already been over this before. I don't care how long it takes you to heal. It still hurts," I stated obviously.
"I made a bad decision. Zane is right about that. I took you without telling anyone, and I can't fully protect you. Stopping here, taking you...was reckless," he expressed as his eyes fell shut.
"It was my idea and you listen to me. You're one of the few people that do that," I revealed with a happy grin. A piece of his shirt was torn. I don't know why that bothered me so much.
"It's only proper," he mumbled a reply. The broken fabric of his shirt was sticking in one of his wounds. It looked painful.
"You should take your shirt off," I said suddenly without fully realizing what I was asking.
"I mean to get the fabric out of the cut you um… have." I finished with a small blush. I heard him chuckle and a natural laugh fell from my lips.
"Help me?" Revenge whispered with fatigue. I swallowed loudly, a little nervous. I moved in front of him and straddled him without really thinking about anything but helping get his shirt off.
"This might hurt a little," I told him as I grabbed the hem on each side of his body. Then I realized my position. My heart quickened. I began to slowly pull the shirt from his body. In his silver blue eyes, I could see a sting of pain. I removed my eyes from his face and pulled his shirt over his abs. Getting his arms through was going to be a problem.
"Can you lift your arms up?" I asked softly. Blood was still dripping down the arm that had been slashed. A hiss fell through his mouth as he started to lift it.
"Stop," I demanded as I formed a better plan. A knife lay abandoned on the ground only a foot away. I leaned toward it, and my fingertips managed to pull it closer so my hand could snatch it. Revenge watched me with interest as I brought the knife under the collar of his shirt pointing toward me.
"This is my plan B," I let him know as I ran the knife through his bloodied shirt. The harsh sound of material ripping filled the messy hotel room. I left the knife on the floor next to us and gently started to pull the sleeve down and off of his arms. When I got to the arm with the gruesome slash, his hand fisted. Blood smeared onto my hands. I ignored it.
My mistake, or opportunity, came when I glanced down at his abs and decided it was a good idea to run my hands down his stomach. It was one of those times where I just did what I wanted without thinking. I had just wanted to run my fingertips down his beautiful muscles. I wasn't prepared for the reaction I got when I glanced back up at him.
Revenge's palm suddenly ran down the side of my face. Goose bumps broke out across my skin. I don't remember getting so close, but I was suddenly face to face with him. My breathing hitched. All I could see was the silver blue of his eyes.
"I don't know-" He soothingly began to whisper.
"Just do it," I cut him off, and he didn't hesitate. I leaned forward and my lips finally met his. Faint tranquility washed over me. His lips were soft when they pressed against mine. It sent my heart stammering. The world around me abruptly became peaceful. There was something safe about when he kissed me. I knew he was going to keep control. The connection between us was seamless.
I jolted back as a loud knock sounded on the door. My breaths were uneven. We just stared at each other. I wondered what he was finding in my green eyes. Was he feeling it to? Was it only me who…oh my gosh. In surprise, I flinched further back. I was thinking about the word love. Did I love him?
"That's your cue," Revenge spoke, and I glimpsed at him in amazement. I might love him.
"I um…" I said not able to think about anything to say. I put my hand to his bare chest and felt for his heartbeat.
"Blair," Revenge began softly. "you should get going." His voice was sad but sure. I got to my feet. I had to go with Zane. It was the only way for Zane's group to work. Zane had control.
"Thank you," I told him, because it seemed like the only time he got hurt was when he was with me. He nodded and smiled easily at me.
"I'll be seeing you soon," he responded.
"Leland," I called him by his first name. Again. I wondered if it was starting to become habit. "Promise me you'll stay here and sleep it off for a few more hours?" I asked seriously as I looked around the room. He almost looked like he was about to protest.
"Only for you," he replied. I took one last glimpse at his jumbled appearance before I slipped out of the door.
As promised, Zane was waiting for me.
"Psychotic?" he asked with his blue eyes lifted and a cocky grin on his face. Of course he heard everything. I crossed my arms and started walking in front of him and towards the elevator. His moods changed very quickly.
"Yes," I answered coldly as I hit the button.
"I believe I have the right to say that you were the one trying to stab me," he countered.
"You were the one attacking Revenge in the first place," I replied. We stepped into the elevator.
"He needs to learn that this is bigger than just you and him. The consequences that he brings to you are going to affect many people. You need to be fully protected. Revenge is not in the proper condition to do so, as I showed him tonight," Zane responded. We sat in silence when the doors closed.
His hands quickly crashed down on each side of me. My back pressed into the wall of the elevator. What felt like an electric current jolted my body. He was too close to me. It was hard for me to think whenever he was too close. His breath brushed against the side of my face as he leaned closer to me and whispered.
"Trust me." The two simple words he spoke made me close my eyes. The bond was trying to bring us together. It tugged at me. He was too close. His blue eyes were bright. I saw his eyes watch my lips. I swallowed sadly and let out a shaky breath.
"How can I ever trust you?" I whispered back to him truthfully. He attacks Revenge like a psycho person then he asked me to trust him? Zane was unpredictable. His blue eyes glanced up at the ceiling, and he kept his position. He seemed irritated.
The elevator clicked signaling it had reached the ground floor. He slowly pulled away from me. My whole body seemed on edge, and now I was relieved. He walked out stiffly. I followed behind him.
I slept for three of the six hours. I refused to talk to Zane because of what he did to Revenge. I hoped Revenge was okay. If he didn't sleep like I asked him to, he was going to be in trouble with me. I spent one hour playing the ABC game by myself and breaking time records. I spent an hour flipping through radio stations and finding nothing I felt like listening to. I spent approximately twenty minutes glaring at Zane who only smirked in return, and the other forty was spent just thinking.
We were five miles away at one in the morning. It was part of my thinking portion of the six hour trip. There were no buildings around. We drove down a road surrounded by wilderness. My eyes caught what seemed like thick clouds in the sky. It was only a moment late when I realized that clouds don't really come from the ground, and that's what it was doing. Then I thought about the many bon fires the village had, and I relaxed. But there was a lot of smoke.
"Zane…" I mumbled as I leaned forward in the seat to get a better look out of the front windshield.
"I know," he replied confidently.
"That can't be from the bon fires can it?" I asked confused and worried.
"No." His one word answer sent a chill up my skin, and I became anxious. Still, he drove toward the village.
"Zane, what happened?" I asked him like he knew the answer. Dax was there. Dax, Torture, War, the kids, Susan, they were all there.
"I am not certain." And then the car stopped. I peeked over at Zane.
"Why did you stop!" I yelled. I wanted to get there as soon as we could.
"They could be looking for you. Blake knows where you are, so that means Prince Adrian is probably aware of where you are too." Zane's jaw was clenched.
"Zane-"
"We can't go," he said and threw the car into reverse.
"Stop!" I screamed and grabbed his hand. The car remained still.
"We can't just leave them. I will never forgive you if you make us run," I said furiously. Time past slowly as he made a decision. I heard him sigh, and then the car clicked into drive. It wasn't like him to change his plan. It wasn't like him to actually listen to me. Was he changing?
"Thank you," I said relieved that he had made the decision I wanted him to. We speed down the road. Clouds of smoke started to collapse over the car like a thin fog. The visibility became poor. The car pulled into a drive way that led nowhere. It was a place Ash set up so they could keep cars for supply runs.
My seatbelt was off in a second, and my shoes hit the dirt ground. The walk from the parking space to the village was a five minute walk. Running, it would only take a short time. We ran. Zane had to slow down for me a couple of times. Then the forest opened up to the village.
A scream ripped through the night. Flames licked at the edges of most of the cabins. The sound of coughing filled the air. Smoke billowed out of a nearby cabin. Then I saw a Court of Shadow's guard. The world was on fire.
:::
*Hello ,hello, everyone! I know it has been forever! I'm sorry it takes me a while to update! I hate that because then characters become harder for readers to recall. I had some family stuff going on. I actually lost my grandma last week :,( ANYWAY! Thanks for sticking with me : ) I would LOVE some constructive criticism : ) Hope you enjoyed! There are only two chapters left... but I've decided to continue on with a sequel! I also started a companion story, so I'll post that soon as well!
***Review Responses***
District7TE- Only time will tell if she ends up with Zane! :D haha, but since the plot got so deep, I'm going to create a sequel to answer more question and progress in the plot line! Thank you for reviewing! :)
Dire Heart- I actually really enjoyed writing the last chapter! I thought it was cute too! haha, thank you for reviewing!
Forever-Buckskin- You not the only one who has issues with Zane! haha. I know :D Revenge is a sweetie! A lot different from Zane that's for sure! This chapter most likely made you dislike Zane even more! haha thanks for your review! I don't know about going on forever, but I'm pretty sure I'm going to do a sequel! :D
Tamika- hello! I'm happy you thought it was cute! That's my favorite word by the way, 'cute'. :D As I mentioned in my little author's note, I will be going on to a sequel! Thank you for reviewing!
crazycassie143- Hi! Sorry for the not so soon post :/ Had some crazy stuff going on! But I'm here now :D haha. Zane fan! Yay! thank you for your review!
Whovian-CapitolGirl- Hello there! haha, I'm not going to complain about those being quick! haha, I loved receiving them! I love all of my characters the same too! But... I do hold a little soft spot for Dax. I'm biased. I tend to always LOVE the comical relief characters! Wow. I'm glad you think so highly of this story! It's my first one, and it's my dream to someday get one published! Ahhh it would be wonderful! Thank you for reviewing!
AlexandraSterling41- I love that about Blair too! It really makes writing fun since she's like that! Thank you for taking time to review!
DJShayShayxx - Hello! :) Blair was able to get through the poison! Even worried me a bit lol. And now you're most likely even more annoyed with Zane after this chapter! Poor Revenge :/ even in this chapter, he always ends up getting hurt or going through something hard! Hehe, I love Dax's happiness! It really brings everyone together! You're not the only one who is really upset with Zane! Thank you for your review!
lover in the shadow - :D So. To answer the question, "am I going to find out who she really loves?" Well, in the next few chapters her love for the guys will start to come to light. There is someone that she is going to chose to be with at the end of Ice Cream Cravings, but since I am writing a sequel, it isn't to say she will stay with them. It doesn't mean she won't stay with them either. Even I can't truly answer who she's going to end up with because I just don't know hehe. It hasn't been written! Anyway, yes, you will find out a little bit! Thanks for reviewing! :)
Vampirefreakk - Hey there! Aww I'm so happy that you've come to enjoy my characters so much! I love them too :) I will be making a sequel! Thank you for reviewing!
solangedrake - Hello! Glad you're loving it so far! Thank you for letting me know and reviewing!
Bonnie D'Salvatore - Hi! It's no problem! I just enjoy hearing from you whenever you get the chance, there's no need to appologize! Yeah, I think Zane does have some loving issues. As for the sequel... I want to write one seperate from this story. I just feel like I need to answer most of the questions in this story and then start fresh and look into a whole new plot (mixed in with this plot too of course). I did think about making it like a Part Two instead of a seperate sequel (to keep my readers and not have the story seperated) but I'm just not sure how I'm going to do it! I personally don't like when a story gets dragged on and on. I think that's why I would enjoy writing a sequel more than making the story longer. thank you for reviewing! :)
Falicia - Right? I actually came up with this story because I went downstairs in my dark house to get ice cream, and when I was going up the stairs I got the 'omg, I'm about to be stabbed in the back with a serial killer' feeling. Then this story idea popped into my head. Thank you for taking the time to review!
xoxDarkFallenAngelxox- hahaha! I get jealous of Blair sometimes too! I've fallen for all the characters! Thank you for all of your compliments and for your review!
JustBeZealous- Oh my gosh! Your review made me laugh :D haha. I'm happy to hear that you've been enjoying it!It totally makes sense to me; I get the whole attraction to Zane XD Thank you for amusing me and reviewing! I really appreciate it!
***Thank you all for reviewing! I hope you have a great rest of the week! Here are the numbers of mentions for the guys***
Revenge: 2
Zane: 5